Statue repaired: Jacques is 'handless' no more
MARBLEHEAD — Maybe Handless Jacques should be renamed Handsome Jacques. The 32-foot-tall fiberglass statue that has been an unofficial, albeit aging, mascot in Marblehead for decades has finally been restored, and he is, hands down, the tallest repurposed and restored twin statue in the world.
That is what Mike Cahill, who spearheaded the restoration project, told the crowd who gathered around Jacques to celebrate phase one of the project last week.
Cahill was joined by Terry Byrne, who restored Jacque’s twin and transformed him into a bobblehead. Byrne installed his statue — some call him Pierre, some call him Jacques — outside Buckeye Express Diner in Bellville off I-71, Exit 165. Byrne’s statue, Cahill said, holds the record as the world’s tallest bobblehead.
“We’re announcing two world records today,” Cahill said prior to the Sept. 15 ceremony.
Jacques' twin, Pierre, undergoes restoration in Bellville
Byrne was faced with the difficult challenge of restoring a statue that had been lying outdoors in pieces for about 50 years. Before the restoration began, the statue could have been nicknamed Headless Jacques.
“Its head was off. It was in horrible shape,” Byrne said.
The statue’s decapitated head inspired the idea to turn him into a bobblehead.
“Logistically, it was difficult. I called about 10 manufacturers looking for a spring. I probably had a lot of guys thinking I was crazy when I told them I was making the world’s largest bobblehead,” Byrne said. “Finally, SUHM Spring Works in Houston, Texas, made a custom spring.”
Byrne installed a rope to the head so kids can make it bobble, but if the wind is strong enough, the head moves on its own.
“Kids just love it. The feedback has been huge,” he said.
Fiberglass company created hands for Jacques
Cahill’s biggest challenge restoring the Marblehead Jacques was finding a way to recreate the missing hands. He found the answer in George Richmond of Sandusky and his friend, Rick Hughes of Norwalk, owner of the custom fiberglass business Emerald FX. The men have extensive experience with statues, having made, among other projects, 45 moose for the Mickey Mart fuel and convenience store chain, including the Mickey Mart near Jacques. Creating Jacques’ hands required a unique approach, so they built the hands of wet sand and fiberglass.
“His garden was the perfect sand consistency. Mike gave us a template for the wrists, and we freehanded the hands,” Richmond said.
The hands were built in a bigger-than-life, caricature style, like the rest of Jacques.
“We were thinking '60s, B-movie giant hands when we were planning them,” Hughes said. “It took about 12 hours to make them.”
The statues once stood outside Jacque’s Roast Beef in Marion and Mansfield. Pat Case of Marion spoke by phone about her memories working at the restaurant.
“It was my first job,” Case said. “It was located on Route 95, which at that time was not a very big thoroughfare.”
The restaurant, which was popular with families, offered a very limited menu.
“We had roast beef sandwiches, and we weighed each one and steamed the buns, which I thought was kind of fun. The sandwiches were wrapped in foil paper,” Case said. “And we had fries and drinks. That’s it.”
Case often helped cook the beef.
“I used to go in early, and we would have these roasts of beef that we wrapped in foil and put in a large oven,” she said. “It was like a sirloin roast. It was a really nice roast.”
Case remembers working under the shadow of the statue.
“On that road that wasn’t very busy, it really stood out,” she said.
Volunteers will landscape, light Jacques' Marblehead display area
The Marblehead Jacques restoration project was made possible with the assistance of the Greater Port Clinton Area Arts Council and because of the generosity of Dave Young, who owns the property where Jacques stands. He is allowing Cahill and his team of volunteers to landscape and install lighting at the site.
“We’ll put a picnic table out here, too,” Young said.
Cahill, who will spend the winter in Florida, said some of that work may be done over the winter.
“We have people here who can do it, and I can direct traffic from Florida,” he said. “I have the best volunteers you can ask for.”
Contact correspondent Sheri Trusty at sheritrusty4@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Jacques is back: Marblehead statue is 'handless' no more
